Betty's Trip to 3rd Annual Sorghum Festival, Richmond, KY--NO RECIPE--

In this video, Betty and her husband, Rick, visit the 3rd Annual Sorghum Festival at the Madison County Fairgrounds in Richmond, KY.

Information about sorghum:

Sweet sorghum has been widely cultivated in the U.S. since the 1850s for use in sweeteners, primarily in the form of sorghum syrup. By the early 1900s, the U.S. produced 20 million gallons of sweet sorghum syrup annually. Making syrup from sorghum (as from sugar cane) is heavily labor intensive. Following World War II, with the declining availability of farm labor, sorghum syrup production fell drastically. Currently, less than 1 million gallons are produced annually in the U.S. Most sorghum grown for syrup production is grown in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Sorghum syrup and hot biscuits are a traditional breakfast in southern Appalachia. Brian Ayres, an expert on Southern United States cuisine, states that it is impossible to drink more than a few tablespoons of sorghum molasses without respite. In the U.S. since the 1950s, sorghum has been raised primarily for forage and silage, with sorghum cultivation for cattle feed concentrated in the Great Plains (Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska are the leading producers), where insufficient rainfall and high temperature make corn production unprofitable.
Sweet sorghum syrup is called "molasses" or "sorghum molasses" in some regions of the U.S., but the term molasses more properly refers to a different sweet syrup, made as a byproduct of the sugarcane or sugar beet production.
Molasses is a byproduct of the processing of sugar cane or sugar beets into sugar. The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet, the amount of sugar extracted, and the method of extraction. Sweet sorghum syrup is known in some parts of the United States as molasses, though it is not true molasses.
Sulphured molasses is made from young sugar cane. Sulphur dioxide, which acts as a preservative, is added during the sugar extraction process. Unsulphured molasses is made from mature sugar cane, which does not require treatment with sulphur. There are three grades of molasses: mild, or first molasses; dark, or second molasses; and blackstrap. These grades may be sulphured or unsulphured.
To make molasses, the sugar cane plant is harvested and stripped of its leaves. Its juice is extracted from the canes, usually by crushing or mashing; it can also be removed by cutting. The juice is boiled to concentrate it, which promotes the crystallization of the sugar. The result of this first boiling and removal of the sugar crystals is first molasses, which has the highest sugar content because comparatively little sugar has been extracted from the source. Second molasses is created from a second boiling and sugar extraction, and has a slight bitter tinge to its taste.
The third boiling of the sugar syrup makes blackstrap molasses. The majority of sucrose from the original juice has been crystallized, but blackstrap molasses is still mostly sugar by calories. However, unlike refined sugars, it contains significant amounts of vitamins and minerals. Blackstrap molasses is a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, and iron; one tablespoon provides up to 20% of the daily value of each of those nutrients. Blackstrap, often sold as a health supplement, is also used in the manufacture of cattle feed and for other industrial uses. (Information obtained from Wikipedia.)

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[androshi]

this looks so interesting. did your family also grow sugar beets and sugar cane as well -when you was a little girl?

can this be homecaned like jelly? the trip was too short-i wanted to see more.

we dont have nothing like this in new york city. i never even heard of this plant.

im going to investigate it more-it seems like a sweet plant to grow.

[bettyskitchen]

@androshi Yes, we grew sugar cane on our farm when I was growing up, and we went through this method of making jars of sorghum each year. It seems to be a dying art.

--Betty :)

[xzur69]

Sorghum mixed with a dab of sweet creamy butter, dizzled onto a HOT biscut...man i miss that.

[bettyskitchen]

@xzur69 That taste is wonderful!

--Betty :)

[JustPoppinDotCom]

Thanks for the video, Betty. It was so interesting to see how sorghum syrup is made. I've never tasted it before so I think I need to go find some!!

Did you know that there is a variety of sorghum grain called "popping sorghum" that you can pop like popcorn?!

[bettyskitchen]

@JustPoppinDotCom I have never heard of "popping sorghum!" That is so interesting!

--Betty :)

[kokonutbaby1]

Betty, I love these little armchair field trips, lol..I can kick back with something good to drink and munch on a Betty'skitchen recipe and still feel like I got to go with ya without even leaving my chair, lol..and its free too!! (;-)>

[LorrPatMorr]

Love your trips, and I love the accent...ty for taking us :)

[bettyskitchen]

@5277407 Hi! Sorghum tastes almost identical to molasses, which is a dark, thick syrup made from sugar cane. Sorghum is a different plant, but when processed tastes very much like molasses.

--Betty :)

[5277407]

Hi Betty. Thanks for the video. I've never heard of Sorghum. Can you describe the taste to a guy from New York City who rarely crosses the George Washington Bridge? Thanks. :)

[GhostAvenger620]

They took my job!!!!

[italobambino43]

Great video, never heard of Sorghum before, I learn a lot from your video's, thanks for the post.